Night Train EP

Interscope; 2010

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"Everybody's changing-- and I don't feel the same." I'll unscientifically submit that this is Keane's most quoted lyric, and rightfully so, since one of the prevalent themes of their catalog is trying to find a semblance of comfort and truth in a world evolving at a frightening pace. Likewise, even as critical tastes seem to shift on the fly, Keane remain something of a constant: Even if you've never heard a note of their music, you've almost certainly heard they're lame-- the third-tier Coldplay that will never end up on a Jay-Z album.

All of this comes full circle on Night Train, a "forget everything you know about Keane!" EP that's seeking to impress Beyoncé but will probably just generate a chuckle from Solange. On 2008's Perfect Symmetry, Keane already went lengths to distance themselves from their image as ivory-tinkling sissies by finally adding guitars and drum machines, but this time, they're more intent on proving they're hip and fun. It's tough to doubt their commitment, considering for all its updated software, Symmetry tanked at the box office. At any given point, they're taking things further, either sanding off the sharp edges of nu-rave ("Back in Time"), approaching Club Med ("Clear Skies"), or pushing toward the overtly synthetic side of 1980s radio pop (neary everything else).

No matter what their exteriors, Keane still seem incapable of anything other than the most heavy-handed gestures, peddling the same populist mock uplift that leaves you feeling pushed when it's meant to move. A cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra's "I-Shin Den-Shin" featuring Japanese pop singer Tigarah aims to be a meta-commentary on cross-cultural outreach but instead comes awfully close to the maddening chirp of "It's a Small World (After All)".

But nothing will prepare you for two tracks with feel-good rap cause K'naan, a guy who's often championed by the sort of people who still use the word "bling" when talking about What's Wrong With Rap. Here, you're just left to wonder where the mutual admiration lies, as this scans an awful lot like the token song on pre-2k boy band albums geared towards "urban" formats. Credit Keane for laying down some pretty undeniable, high-stepping piano pomp, but I sorta hope that they were never in the studio together, lest they be high-fiving over lyrics like, "I guess I'm just a fiend/ Consumed by the scene/ The stage and the screens where it's just me and Keane."

K'naan fits in better on "Looking Back", and that's a huge problem considering that the sum of their artistry is a motivational rap built on the theme to "Rocky". Unlike Pat Boone's In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy or M.O.P. guesting on an LFO track, these guys are so earnest about what they think is some culmination of genre alchemy that you can't even find humor in it. Instead, you just ride out the embarrassment like you did any time one of your "hip" teachers tried to incorporate rap into their lesson plans.

Look, it helps to believe that Keane had a chance here-- as with their past albums, there's often a strong melody or machine-like songwriting efficiency dying to strap itself to something other than platitudes and awkward genre exercises. And in less clumsy hands, such a shift might sound like a band being themselves, but even as they turn their music into rebranding strategy, Keane are just getting worse at being what they think you want them to be.